Died On This Date (September 30, 2012) Marv Tarplin / Guitarist In Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
themusicsover Marv Tarplin
June 13, 1941 – September 30, 2011
Marv Tarplin was a guitarist and songwriter who is perhaps best remembered as a founding member of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. Tarplin was playing guitar for Detroit girl group, the Primettes, when they auditioned for Robinson, who was doing A&R at Motown at the time. Robinson was so taken by Tarplin’s playing that he offered him a gig in his own group. The year was 1958, and Tarplin was suddenly the lead guitarist and co-songwriter for the Miracles, who would eventually become one of Motown’s most popular acts. Meanwhile, the Primettes would soon make history themselves after morphing into the Supremes. Tarplin went on to play on and co-write numerous hits for the band. That list includes “My Girl Has Gone,” “Going To A Go-Go,” and most famously, “Tracks Of My Tears.” After both he and Robinson left the Miracles in 1973, Tarplin continued to write and perform with Robinson. He also co-wrote the Marvin Gaye hits, “Ain’t That Peculiar” and “One More Heartache,” among others. Tarplin remained active in the music business until his retirement in 2008. As reported in the American Spectator, Marv Tarplin was 70 when he passed away on September 30, 2011. Cause of death was not immediately released.
What You Should Own
Sylvia Robinson is best remembered as the founder and CEO of influential rap label, Sugar Hill Records who introduced most of the world to rap and hip-hop thanks to a stable of artists that included the Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Melle Mel, and the Treacherous Three. In doing so, Robinson was largely responsible for what we know as popular music, fashion, and pop culture today. Born in New York City, Robinson achieved a bit of success as a singer herself when she released the moderate hit, “Love Is Strange” in 1957. By the late ’60s, she had moved over to the label side of the business with her own company, All Platinum Records where she produced and released mostly soul records. In 1973, Robinson released another record, this time simply as Sylvia. It was called “Pillow Talk” and sold over 2 million copies, ultimately reaching #3 on the pop charts. It is widely considered one of the foundations on which disco was built, while its drumming rhythm would later be heard on “Running Up The Hill” by Kate Bush and “Big Love” by Fleetwood Mac. During the late ’70s, Robinson, her husband, Joe Robinson, and Milton Malden launched Sugar Hill Records where she quickly helped form the Sugarhill Gang who went on to release rap music’s first commercially successful single, 1979’s “Rapper’s Delight.” Robinson soon followed that with “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. That song is credited for bringing socially conscience lyrics to rap, and along with other early releases from Sugar Hill, introduced the fine art of sampling to the world. According to 
Leonard Dillon was known to reggae fans the world over as the founding lead singer of pioneering Jamaican ska and rocksteady group, the Ethiopians. Formed during the mid ’60s, the Ethiopians cut their first records for legendary Jamaican producer, 
Johnnie Wright was an influential country music singer and songwriter who, along with 
Harry “Cuby” Muskee was a Dutch blues singer who built a considerable following throughout the Netherlands during the ’60s and ’70s. Muskee was just 15 when he took up the guitar, and while he was in high school, he was turned on to jazz and Dixieland. He soon formed his first band, the Mixtures who played jazz primarily at school dances. Around that time, he began picking up the US Armed Forces Radio which was broadcasting to the American soldiers who were stationed in nearby Germany. It was on the radio that he began hearing American blues, and in particular,